Is marking of transmission lines required inside of tower?

I have a wireless customer (with about 150 PCS sites in the midwest) that wants to know "where to find the info" which requires painting of feedlines on their towers in addition to towers they rent on, plus who knows if mounting the feedlines "inside" the tower removes the coax painting liabilty? Any legal beagles out there?

This is a frequent request that we get and a great source of information is available at:
http://www.fcc.gov/eb/Orders/2003/DA-03-3969A1.html . In short, money is the great educator. The tower owner received an $8,000 fine.

One excuse they used for not painting the transmission lines was that it was the tenant's responsibility. Not so, said the FCC.

The actual document for transmission line conformance is available at: http://www.faa.gov/ATS/ata/ai/AC70_7460_1K.pdf

The advisory says that ?coaxial cable, conduits, and other cables attached to the ?face? of a tower? must be painted. The FAA also takes the position that paint should be applied to "all inner and outer surfaces of the framework."

One could easily jump to the conclusion that ?face? just means the outside of the tower, but there is also an inside face to the framework of a tower.

This answer is provided without the benefit of staying at a Holiday Inn Express last evening or a Juris Doctor degree, but if the tower owner was fined because the transmission lines were blocking the outer markings of the structure, it might be logical that blocking the inside of the structure's visibility would be treated as a similar infraction.

A request by the carrier to the FCC might be the best route to ensure that they are in compliance.

In 1995, Revision J added the requirement to paint transmission lines, cables, etc.; prior to that there wasn't a major concern and the advisory only required that the only areas that "did not have to be painted" - and the language is still in revision K, were walkways, ladders and similar structures if the smooth surface presented the potential for injuries for maintenance personnel. It could also be left off of precision parts if it could be identified that it would have an effect on radiation characteristics.

FCC investigators were not overly concerned about unpainted transmission lines prior to that time. However, with the early nineties seeing half of an entire face going dark with the advent of co-located cell sites, they saw the need to add the cable requirements in 1995.

Lighting and monitoring regulations can be confusing at times because of changes in advisories and "urban legends" that have grown legs over the years.

To view some of the most frequently asked marking and lighting questions, please see:
http://www.wirelessestimator.com/t_content.cfm?Pagename=Obstruction%20Lighting

Does anybody know when the next revision of this lighting standard is coming out? Is there a committee that reviews this or does the FCC put out a notice like they did on the bird kill subject which could affect lighting?

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